Thin film transistor array panel

ABSTRACT

A thin film transistor array panel includes a gate line and the driver connection line formed with the same layer material, a data line and a driving pad formed with the same layer material, a first field generating electrode and a connecting member formed with the same layer material, and a second field generating electrode and a dummy electrode layer formed with the same layer material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/615,210, filed on Sep. 13, 2012, and claims priority from and thebenefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0095209, filed on Sep.21, 2011, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a thin filmtransistor array panel.

2. Discussion of the Background

Among display panels, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) is one type offlat panel display that is currently being widely used, and includes twodisplay panels in which field generating electrodes, such as a pixelelectrode and a common electrode, etc., are formed, and a liquid crystallayer is disposed therebetween. The LCD displays images by applyingvoltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electricfield in the liquid crystal (“LC”) layer that determines theorientations of LC molecules therein to adjust the polarization ofincident light. In the liquid crystal display, the pixel electrode andthe common electrode generating an electric field to the liquid crystallayer may be formed on a thin film transistor array panel.

On the other hand, a chip-on-glass type directly mounting a data drivingcircuit to apply a data voltage to the field generating electrode of theliquid crystal display on the thin film transistor array panel has beenproposed. When directly mounting the data driving circuit on the thinfilm transistor array panel through the chip-on-glass type, a driverconnection line to connect a data pad unit of a data line and the datadriving circuit may be formed of a gate wire or a data wire.

When forming the driver connection line of the gate wire, the driverconnection line may be narrowly formed such that an area of anon-display area may be reduced. However, a thickness of a layer formedon the gate wire is correspondingly increased such that the connectionwith the driving circuit chip becomes difficult. Also, when forming thedriver connection line of the data wire, the thickness of the layerformed on the data wire is small such that the connection with thedriving circuit chip is easy. However, it is difficult to narrowly formthe driver connection line such that the area of the non-display area isincreased. However, a contact hole exposing the driver connection lineis covered only by a connecting member made of a transparent conductor,and is therefore subject to corrosion.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a thin filmtransistor array panel including a driver connection line for easyconnection with a driving circuit chip while reducing an area of anon-display area of the chip.

Additional features of the invention will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention discloses a thin filmtransistor array panel including: a substrate having a display area anda peripheral area of the display area; a gate line disposed in thedisplay area of the substrate; a driver connection line disposed in theperipheral area of the substrate; a gate insulating layer disposed onthe gate line and the driver connection line; a data line disposed onthe gate insulating layer and disposed in the display area of thesubstrate; a driving pad disposed on the gate insulating layer anddisposed in the peripheral area of the substrate; a first insulatinglayer disposed on the data line and the driving pad; a first fieldgenerating electrode disposed on the first insulating layer and disposedin the display area of the substrate; a connecting member disposed onthe first insulating layer and disposed in the peripheral area of thesubstrate; a second insulating layer disposed on the first fieldgenerating electrode and the connecting member; a second fieldgenerating electrode disposed on the second insulating layer anddisposed in the display area of the substrate; and a dummy electrodelayer disposed on the second insulating layer and disposed in theperipheral area of the substrate. The gate line and the driverconnection line are formed of the same layer material, the data line andthe driving pad are formed of the same layer material, the first fieldgenerating electrode and the connecting member are formed of the samelayer material, and the second field generating electrode and the dummyelectrode layer are formed of the same layer material.

The first insulating layer and the second insulating layer have a firstcontact hole exposing the driving pad, the gate insulating layer, thefirst insulating layer, and the second insulating layer have a secondcontact hole exposing the driver connection line, and the connectingmember covers the first contact hole and the second contact hole.

A portion of the second insulating layer and the dummy electrode layermay be disposed on the second contact hole.

A bump may be disposed on the first contact hole.

A portion of the driver connection line may be disposed under thedriving pad and they overlap each other.

The first insulating layer may include an organic insulator and asurface thereof is flat.

One of the first field generating electrode and the second fieldgenerating electrode may have a plate shape, and the other may include abranch electrode.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also discloses a thinfilm transistor array panel including: a substrate having a display areaand a peripheral area of the display area; a gate line disposed in thedisplay area of the substrate; a driver connection line disposed in theperipheral area of the substrate; a gate insulating layer disposed onthe gate line and the driver connection line; a data line disposed onthe gate insulating layer and disposed in the display area of thesubstrate; a plurality of driving pads disposed on the gate insulatinglayer in the peripheral area of the substrate; a first insulating layerdisposed on the data line and the driving pad; a second insulating layerdisposed on the first insulating layer in the display area of thesubstrate; a first field generating electrode disposed on the secondinsulating layer in the display area of the substrate; a thirdinsulating layer disposed on the substrate on the first field generatingelectrode; a second field generating electrode disposed on the thirdinsulating layer in the display area of the substrate; and a firstconnecting member disposed on the third insulating layer and coveringthe plurality of driving pads. The gate line and the driver connectionlines are formed with the same layer material, the data line and thedriving pad are formed with the same layer material, and the secondfield generating electrode and the first connecting member are formedwith the same layer material.

An output line respectively extending from a plurality of driving padsmay be further included, the first insulating layer and the thirdinsulating layer may have a first contact hole exposing the driving padand a second contact hole exposing the output line, the gate insulatinglayer, the first insulating layer, and the second insulating layer mayhave a third contact hole exposing the driver connection lines, and asecond connecting member covering the second contact hole and the thirdcontact hole may be further included, wherein the second connectingmember may be formed with the same layer as the second field generatingelectrode.

Among a plurality of driving pads, two neighboring driving pads may beseparated from each other in a vertical direction.

Among a plurality of driving pads, the output line may be disposedbetween two adjacent driving pads disposed on the same line in thehorizontal direction.

A bump may be disposed on the first contact hole.

A portion of the driver connection lines may be disposed to beoverlapped by the driving pad.

The second insulating layer may include an organic insulator and has aflat surface.

The second insulating layer may not be disposed in the peripheral area.

As described above, the thin film transistor array panel according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention forms the driverconnection line with the gate wire such that the driver connection linemay be narrowly formed and the area of the non-display area may bereduced, the connection along with the driving circuit chip is formedwith a dual layer of the gate wire and the data wire such that thedriving circuit chip may be stably connected, and the upper portion ofthe driver connection line is covered and protected by the interlayerinsulating layer and two electrode layers that overlap to each other viathe interlayer insulating layer such that the corrosion of the driverconnection line exposed by the contact hole may be prevented

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a layout view of a thin film transistor array panel accordingto a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a layout view of one pixel of a display area of a thin filmtransistor array panel according to the first exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array paneltaken along the line III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a layout view of a portion of a peripheral area and a drivingregion of a thin film transistor array panel according to the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array paneltaken along the line V-V′ of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a layout view of one pixel of a display area of a thin filmtransistor array panel according to a second exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array paneltaken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a layout view of a portion of a peripheral area and a drivingregion of a thin film transistor array panel according to a thirdexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array paneltaken along the line IX-IX′ of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a layout view of a thin film transistor array panel accordingto a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a layout view of one pixel in a display area of a thin filmtransistor array panel according to the fourth exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor arraypanel of FIG. 11 taken along the line XII-XII.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor arraypanel of FIG. 10 taken along the line XIII-XIII′.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown.This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure isthorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes oflayers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity Like referencenumerals in the drawings denote like elements.

It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film,region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” another element, itcan be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It willbe understood that for the purposes of this disclosure, “at least one ofX, Y, and Z” can be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or anycombination of two or more items X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XYY, YZ, ZZ).

First, a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a layout view of a thin film transistor array panelaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a thin film transistor array panel according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality ofpixels PX and includes a display area 10 to display images, a peripheralarea 20 arranged at the periphery of the display area 10, and a drivingregion 30 disposed near the peripheral area 20. A driving circuit chip40 is disposed in the driving region 30, and a driver connection unit 50which connects a signal line disposed in the display area 10 and thedriving circuit chip 40 of the driving region 30 is disposed in theperipheral area 20.

Referring to the enlarged view of a portion of the peripheral area 20and the driving region 30, a plurality of driver connection lines 123are disposed in the driver connection unit 50. A first driving input pad50 a and a first driving output pad 50 b are disposed in the drivingregion 30. An end of the driver connection line 123 forms the firstdriving input pad 50 a. A first driver contact hole 181 a is formed toexpose the first driving output pad 50 b, and a second driver contacthole 181 b is formed to expose the first driving input pad 50 a. Thefirst driving output pad 50 b and the first driving input pad 50 a thatare respectively exposed through the first driver contact hole 181 a andthe second driver contact hole 181 b are connected by a connectingmember 91. The first driving output pad 50 b is connected to the drivingcircuit chip 40 through a bump (shown later).

If a driving signal is output from the driving circuit chip 40 to thefirst driving output pad 50 b, the output driving signal is transmittedto the first driving input pad 50 a connected to the first drivingoutput pad 50 b through the connecting member 91. The driving signalinput to the first driving input pad 50 a is transmitted through thedriver connection line 123, thereby being transmitted to the signal lineof the pixel PX.

Next, a thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 4 and FIG. 5 as well as FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a layout viewof one pixel of a display area of a thin film transistor array panelaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.3 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array paneltaken along the line III-III of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a layout view of aportion of a peripheral area and a driving region of a thin filmtransistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the thin filmtransistor array panel taken along the line V-V′ of FIG. 4.

First, a display area of a thin film transistor array panel according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a plurality of gate conductors includinga plurality of gate lines 121 and a plurality of common voltage lines125 are formed on an insulation substrate 110.

The gate lines 121 transmit gate signals and substantially extend in atransverse direction. Each gate line 121 includes a plurality of gateelectrodes 124.

The common voltage line 125 may transfer a predetermined voltage such ascommon voltage Vcom, may extend substantially in a transverse direction,and may be substantially parallel with the gate line 121. Each commonvoltage line 125 may include a plurality of extensions 126.

A gate insulating layer 140 is formed on the gate conductors 121 and125. The gate insulating layer 140 may be made of an inorganicinsulating material, or the like, such as silicon nitride (SiNx),silicon oxide (SiOx), or the like.

A plurality of semiconductors 151 including a plurality of projections154 are formed on the gate insulating layer 140. Ohmic contacts 161 maybe disposed on the semiconductors 151, but the ohmic contacts may beomitted.

A data conductor including a plurality of data lines 171 and a pluralityof drain electrodes 175 is formed on the ohmic contacts.

The data line 171 transmits data signals and substantially extends in alongitudinal direction to intersect the gate lines 121 and the commonvoltage lines 125. Each data line 171 includes a plurality of sourceelectrodes 173 extending toward the gate electrode 124.

The drain electrode 175 includes a bar-type end facing the sourceelectrode 173 with respect to the gate electrode 124 and the other endhaving a wide area.

The gate electrode 124, the source electrode 173, and the drainelectrode 175 form a thin film transistor TFT as a switching elementalong with the exposed portions of the projections 154 of thesemiconductor 151. The semiconductor 151 may have substantially the sameplane as the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 except for thechannel of the thin film transistor.

A first passivation layer 180 x is positioned on the data conductors 171and 175 and the exposed portions of the projections 154, and the firstpassivation layer 180 x may be made of an organic insulating material oran inorganic insulating material.

A second passivation layer 180 y is positioned on the first passivationlayer 180 x. The second passivation layer 180 y includes an organicmaterial and may be formed on the whole surface of the substrate 110while covering the data lines 171. The surface of the second passivationlayer 180 y may be substantially flat.

The first passivation layer 180 x and the second passivation layer 180 yhave a first contact hole 181 exposing a portion of the drain electrode175.

A plurality of pixel electrodes 191 are positioned on the secondpassivation layer 180 y. Each pixel electrode 191 may have a plane shapefilling most of the region enclosed by the gate line 121 and the dataline 171. The entire shape of the pixel electrode 191 may be a polygonhaving edges substantially parallel to the gate line 121 and the dataline 171 and both lower edges where the thin film transistor ispositioned may be chamfered, however it is not limited thereto. Thepixel electrode 191 may be made of a transparent conductive materialsuch as ITO or IZO. The pixel electrode 191 receives a data voltage fromthe drain electrode 175, which is connected to the pixel electrode 191via the first contact hole 181.

A third passivation layer 180 z is formed on the pixel electrode 191.The third passivation layer 180 z may be made of an inorganic insulatoror an organic insulator. The third passivation layer 180 z, the secondpassivation layer 180 y, the first passivation layer 180 x, and the gateinsulating layer 140 have a plurality of second contact holes 182exposing a portion of the common voltage line 125 (e.g., a portion ofthe extension 126).

A plurality of common electrodes 131 are formed on the third passivationlayer 180 z. The common electrodes 131 may be made of the transparentconductive material such as ITO or IZO.

Each common electrode 131 includes a pair of longitudinal portions 135covering the data line 171, a plurality of branch electrodes 133positioned between two longitudinal portions 135 and separated from eachother, and a lower transverse portion 132 a and an upper transverseportion 132 b connecting ends of a plurality of branch electrodes 133.The longitudinal portion 135 is substantially parallel to the data line171 and overlaps the data line 171 while covering it. The lower andupper transverse portions 132 a and 132 b are substantially parallel tothe gate line 121. A plurality of branch electrodes 133 aresubstantially parallel to each other and form an oblique angle withrespect to the extending direction of the gate line 121, and the obliqueangle may be more than 45 degrees. The branch electrode 133 at the upperside and the branch electrode 133 at the lower side may be inverselysymmetrical with respect to an imaginary transverse center line of thecommon electrode 131. The neighboring common electrodes 131 areconnected to each other while sharing one longitudinal portion 135. Thecommon electrode 131 receives a voltage such as a common voltage Vcomfrom the common voltage line 125 through the second contact hole 182.The common electrode 131 according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention overlaps the pixel electrode 191. Particularly, atleast two neighboring branch electrodes 133 of the common electrode 131overlap one pixel electrode 191 having a plane shape.

Next, a portion of the peripheral area and the driving region of thethin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4 andFIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a plurality of driver connection lines123 are formed on the insulation substrate 110. The driver connectionlines 123 may be made of the gate conductor material. The end of thedriver connection line 123 forms the first driving input pad 50 a.

The gate insulating layer 140 is formed on the driver connection line123. The first driving output pad 50 b is formed on the gate insulatinglayer 140. A portion of the driver connection line 123 is extended anddisposed under the first driving output pad 50 b. The first drivingoutput pad 50 b includes a first layer 150, which may be formed with thesame layer material as the semiconductor 151 of the display area, asecond layer 160, which may be formed with the same layer material asthe ohmic contact of the display area, and a third layer 170, which maybe made of the data conductor material of the display area. The secondlayer 160 may be omitted.

The first passivation layer 180 x is formed on the first driving outputpad 50 b and the gate insulating layer 140. The second passivation layer180 y is positioned on the first passivation layer 180 x. The firstpassivation layer 180 x and the second passivation layer 180 y have thefirst driver contact hole 181 a exposing the first driving output pad 50b, and the first passivation layer 180 x, the second passivation layer180 y, and the gate insulating layer 140 have the second driver contacthole 181 b exposing the first driving input pad 50 a of the driverconnection line 123. The first driving output pad 50 b and the firstdriving input pad 50 a, which are respectively exposed through the firstdriver contact hole 181 a and the second driver contact hole 181 b, areconnected by the connecting member 91.

The connecting member 91 may be formed with the same layer material asthe pixel electrode 191 of the display area.

A bump 61 is disposed on the connecting member 91 disposed at theposition corresponding to the first driving output pad 50 b. Through thebump 61, the driving circuit chip 40 and the first driving output pad 50b are electrically connected to each other.

The third passivation layer 180 z is disposed on the connecting member91 disposed at the position corresponding to the first driving input pad50 a, and a dummy electrode layer 92 formed with the same layer materialas the common electrode 131 is disposed on the third passivation layer180 z.

In the case of the thin film transistor array panel according to thepresent exemplary embodiment, the first driving output pad 50 b wherethe driving signal is output from the driving circuit chip 40 includes alayer made of the data conductor material of the display area.Accordingly, compared with a case of forming the first driving outputpad 50 b with the gate conductor material, a depth of the first drivercontact hole 181 a exposing the first driving output pad 50 b is notrelatively large. Also, the layer made of the gate conductor material isdisposed under the first driving output pad 50 b made of the dataconductor material such that the depth of the first driver contact hole181 a may be further reduced. Accordingly, the interval between thedriving circuit chip 40 and the first driving output pad 50 b is smallsuch that the connection using bump 61 is easy. Also, in the case of thethin film transistor array panel according to the present exemplaryembodiment, the driver connection line 123 connecting the drivingcircuit chip 40 and the display area is formed with the gate conductormaterial through one etch process such that the width may be smallcompared with the driver connection line 123 being formed with the dataconductor material, and thereby the width of the peripheral area nearthe display area may be reduced.

Also, in the case of the thin film transistor array panel according tothe present exemplary embodiment, the second driver contact hole 181 bexposing the first driving input pad 50 a as the end of the driverconnection line 123 is covered and protected by the third passivationlayer 180 z as the interlayer insulating layer disposed between thepixel electrode 191 and the common electrode 131; the dummy electrodelayer 92 made with the same layer material as the common electrode 131;and the connecting member 91 made with the same layer material as thepixel electrode 191. Thereby, corrosion of the driver connection line123 may be prevented.

Next, a thin film transistor array panel according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 8 and FIG. 9 as well as FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. FIG. 6 is a layout viewof one pixel of a display area of a thin film transistor array panelaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film transistor array paneltaken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a layout view of aportion of a peripheral area and a driving region of a thin filmtransistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the thin filmtransistor array panel taken along the line IX-IX′ of FIG. 8.

First, a display area of a thin film transistor array panel according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the display area of the thin filmtransistor array panel according to the present exemplary embodiment isthe same as most of the display area of the thin film transistor arraypanel shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. A plurality of gate conductorsincluding a plurality of gate lines 121 and a plurality of commonvoltage lines 125 are formed on an insulation substrate 110.

A gate insulating layer 140 is formed on the gate conductors 121 and125.

A plurality of semiconductors 151 including a plurality of projections154 are formed on the gate insulating layer 140. An ohmic contact 161may be disposed on the semiconductor 151, but the ohmic contact may beomitted.

A data conductor including a plurality of data lines 171 and a pluralityof drain electrodes 175 is formed on the ohmic contact. In contrast tothe thin film transistor array panel according to the exemplaryembodiment shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the data line 171 of the thinfilm transistor array panel according to the present exemplaryembodiment is periodically bent, thereby forming an oblique angle by theextending direction of the gate line 121. The oblique angle between thedata line 171 and the extending direction of the gate line 121 may bemore than 45 degrees.

A gate electrode 124, the source electrode 173, and the drain electrode175 form the thin film transistor as the switching element along theexposed portion of the projections 154 of the semiconductor 151. Thesemiconductor 151 may have almost the same plane shape as the data line171 and the drain electrode 175 except for the channel of the thin filmtransistor.

A first passivation layer 180 x is positioned on the data conductors 171and 175 and the exposed portions of the projections 154, and the firstpassivation layer 180 x may be made of the organic insulating materialor the inorganic insulating material.

A second passivation layer 180 y is positioned on the first passivationlayer 180 x. The second passivation layer 180 y includes the organicmaterial and covers the data line 171, and may be formed on the entiresurface of the substrate 110. The surface of the second passivationlayer 180 y may be substantially flat.

The first passivation layer 180 x and the second passivation layer 180 yhave a fourth contact hole 183 exposing a portion of the drain electrode175, and the first passivation layer 180 x, the second passivation layer180 y and the gate insulating layer 140 have a third contact hole 184exposing a portion of the common voltage line 125.

A common electrode 131 is formed on the second passivation layer 180 y.The common electrode 131 is electrically connected to the common voltageline 125 through the third contact hole 184, thereby receiving thepredetermined voltage such as the common voltage Vcom from the commonvoltage line 125. The common electrode 131 has an opening 138 exposing acontact hole 183 described later. In the present exemplary embodiment,the common electrode 131 may be formed with a single plate on the entiresurface of the substrate 110.

A third passivation layer 180 z is formed on the common electrode 131,and a pixel electrode 191 is formed thereon. The first passivation layer180 x, the second passivation layer 180 y, and the third passivationlayer 180 z have a plurality of fourth contact holes 183 exposing aportion of the drain electrode 175, and the pixel electrode 191 iselectrically connected to the drain electrode 175 through the thirdcontact hole 184 and the fourth contact hole 183, thereby receiving thedata voltage. The pixel electrode 191 includes a plurality of branchelectrodes 193 substantially parallel to each other and separated fromeach other, and lower and upper transverse portions 192 connecting upperand lower ends of the branch electrode 193. The branch electrodes 193 ofthe pixel electrode 191 may be bent similarly to the data line 171.

The data voltage applied to the pixel electrode 191 and the commonvoltage applied to the common electrode 131 generate an electric fieldto the liquid crystal layer.

Next, a peripheral area of a thin film transistor array panel accordingto another exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the peripheral area and the drivingregion of the thin film transistor array panel according to the presentexemplary embodiment is the same as most of the display area of the thinfilm transistor array panel shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a plurality of driver connection lines123 are formed on the insulation substrate 110. The driver connectionline 123 may be made of the gate conductor material. The end of thedriver connection line 123 forms a first driving input pad 50 a.

The gate insulating layer 140 is formed on the driver connection line123. A first driving output pad 50 b is formed on the gate insulatinglayer 140. A portion of the driver connection line 123 is extended underthe first driving output pad 50 b. The first driving output pad 50 bincludes a first layer 150, which may be made with the same layermaterial as the semiconductor 151 of the display area, a second layer160, which may be made with the same layer material as the ohmic contactof the display area, and a third layer 170, which may be made of thedata conductor material of the display area. Here, the second layer 160may be omitted.

The first passivation layer 180 x is disposed on the first drivingoutput pad 50 b and the gate insulating layer 140. The secondpassivation layer 180 y is positioned on the first passivation layer 180x. The first passivation layer 180 x and the second passivation layer180 y have a first driver contact hole 181 a exposing the first drivingoutput pad 50 b, and the first passivation layer 180 x, the secondpassivation layer 180 y, and the gate insulating layer 140 have a seconddriver contact hole 181 b exposing the first driving input pad 50 a ofthe driver connection line 123. The first driving output pad 50 b andthe first driving input pad 50 a, which are respectively exposed throughthe first driver contact hole 181 a and the second driver contact hole181 b are connected by a connecting member 91.

The connecting member 91 may be made with the same layer as the commonelectrode 131 of the display area.

A bump 61 is disposed on the connecting member 91 disposed at theposition corresponding to the first driving output pad 50 b. Through thebump 61, the driving circuit chip 40 and the first driving output pad 50b are electrically connected to each other.

The third passivation layer 180 z is disposed on the connecting member91 disposed at the position corresponding to the first driving input pad50 a, and a dummy electrode layer 92 made with the same layer materialas the pixel electrode 191 is disposed on the third passivation layer180 z.

In the case of the peripheral area of the thin film transistor arraypanel according to the present exemplary embodiment, differently fromthe peripheral area of the thin film transistor array panel according tothe exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the connectingmember 91 is made with the same layer material as the common electrode131, and the dummy electrode layer 92 is made with the same layermaterial as the pixel electrode 191.

In the case of the thin film transistor array panel according to thepresent exemplary embodiment, the first driving output pad 50 boutputting the driving signal from the driving circuit chip 40 includesthe data conductor of the display area. Accordingly, compared with thecase of forming the first driving output pad 50 b with the gateconductor, the depth of the first driver contact hole 181 a exposing thefirst driving output pad 50 b is not large. Also, a layer made of thegate conductor is disposed under the first driving output pad 50 b madeof the data conductor such that the depth of the first driver contacthole 181 a may be further decreased. Accordingly, the interval betweenthe driving circuit chip 40 and the first driving output pad 50 b is notlarge, and thereby the connection using the bump 61 is easy. Also, inthe case of the thin film transistor array panel according to thepresent exemplary embodiment, the driver connection line 123 connectingthe driving circuit chip 40 and the display area is formed with the gateconductor through one etching process such that the width is narrowlyformed compared with a data conductor formed through two etchingprocesses, and thereby the area of the peripheral area near the displayarea may be reduced.

Also, in the case of the thin film transistor array panel according tothe present exemplary embodiment, the second driver contact hole 181 bexposing the first driving input pad 50 a as the end of the driverconnection line 123 is covered and protected by the third passivationlayer 180 z as the interlayer insulating layer disposed between thepixel electrode 191 and the common electrode 131; the dummy electrodelayer 92 made with the same layer material as the pixel electrode 191;and the connecting member 91 made with the same layer material as thecommon electrode 131, thereby preventing the corrosion of the driverconnection line 123. That is, in the case of the peripheral area of thethin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention, the driver connection line 123 exposed throughthe contact hole is covered and protected by the connecting member 91made with the same layer material as one of two field generatingelectrodes 191 and 131; the third passivation layer 180 z as theinterlayer insulating layer between the two field generating electrodes191 and 131; and the dummy electrode layer 92 made with the same layermaterial as one of the two field generating electrodes 191 and 131.

Next, a thin film transistor array panel according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 10 to FIG. 13. FIG. 10 is a layout view of a thin film transistorarray panel according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, FIG. 11 is a layout view of one pixel in a display area of athin film transistor array panel according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional viewof the thin film transistor array panel of FIG. 11 taken along the lineXII-XII, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the thin filmtransistor array panel of FIG. 10 taken along the line XIII-XIII′.

First, referring to FIG. 10, a thin film transistor array panelaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present inventionincludes a display area 10 to display images, a peripheral area 20arranged at the periphery of the display area 10, and a driving region30 disposed near the peripheral area 20, similarly to the thin filmtransistor array panel of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Adriving circuit chip 40 is disposed in the driving region 30, and adriver connection unit 50 which connects a signal line is disposed inthe display area 10, and the driving circuit chip 40 of the drivingregion 30 is disposed in the peripheral area 20.

However, in the thin film transistor array panel according to thepresent exemplary embodiment, the structure of the peripheral area 20and the driving region 30 differs from the thin film transistor arraypanel of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Referring to theenlarged view of a portion of the peripheral area 20 and the drivingregion 30 in FIG. 10, a plurality of driver connection lines 123, asecond driving output pad 51 a, an output line 51 b extending from thesecond driving output pad 51 a, and a second driving input pad 51 c aredisposed in the driver connection unit 50. The driver connection lines123 are formed with the same layer material as the second driving inputpad 51 c, and are connected to each other.

A first connecting member 91 a is formed on a plurality of third drivercontact holes 182 a exposing portions of the second driving output pad51 a. A second connecting member 91 b is disposed on a plurality offourth driver contact holes 182 b exposing a portion of the end of theoutput line 51 b and a plurality of fifth driver contact holes 182 cexposing a portion of the second driving input pad 51 c. The seconddriving output pad 51 a is connected to the driving circuit chip 40through a bump (not shown).

Whenever the driving signal is output from the driving circuit chip 40to the first driving output pad 50 b through the bump and the firstconnecting member 91 a, the output driving signal is transmitted throughthe output line 51 b and is transmitted to the second driving input pad51 c connected to the output line 51 b by the second connecting member91 b. The driving signal input to the second driving input pad 51 c istransmitted through the driver connection lines 123, thereby beingtransmitted to the signal line of the pixel PX.

Next, the thin film transistor array panel according to the presentexemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 10 to 13.

First, referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, a display area of the thin filmtransistor array panel according to the present exemplary embodiment issimilar to the display area of the thin film transistor array panelaccording to the exemplary embodiment described with reference to FIG. 6and FIG. 7.

In detail, a plurality of gate conductors including a plurality of gatelines 121 and a plurality of common voltage lines 125 are formed on theinsulation substrate 110, and a gate insulating layer 140 is formed onthe gate conductors 121 and 125. A plurality of semiconductors 151including a plurality of projections 154 are formed on the gateinsulating layer 140, and ohmic contacts (not shown) may be formed onthe semiconductors 151 and 154. The ohmic contacts may be omitted. Adata conductor including a plurality of data lines 171 and a pluralityof drain electrodes 175 is formed on the ohmic contacts. A gateelectrode 124, a source electrode 173, and a drain electrode 175 form athin film transistor as a switching element along with the projections154. The semiconductors 151 and 154 may have almost the same plane shapeas the data line 171 and the drain electrode 175 except for thesemiconductor 154 including the channel portion of the thin filmtransistor.

A first passivation layer 180 x is positioned on the data conductor 171and 175 and the exposed portions of the projections 154. A secondpassivation layer 180 y is positioned on the first passivation layer 180x. The second passivation layer 180 y includes the organic material andmay be formed on the whole surface of the substrate 110 while coveringthe data lines 171. The surface of the second passivation layer 180 ymay be substantially flat.

The first passivation layer 180 x and the second passivation layer 180 yhave a first contact hole 181 exposing a portion of the drain electrode175, and the first passivation layer 180 x, the second passivation layer180 y, and the gate insulating layer 140 have a third contact hole 184exposing a portion of the common voltage line 125.

A common electrode 131 is formed on the second passivation layer 180 y.The common electrode 131 is electrically connected to the common voltageline 125 through the third contact hole 184, thereby receiving thepredetermined voltage such as the common voltage Vcom from the commonvoltage line 125. In the present exemplary embodiment, the commonelectrode 131 may be formed with a plate shape on the entire surface ofthe substrate 110.

The third passivation layer 180 z is formed on the common electrode 131and the pixel electrode 191 is formed thereon. The first passivationlayer 180 x, the second passivation layer 180 y, and the thirdpassivation layer 180 z have a plurality of fourth contact holes 183exposing a portion of the drain electrode 175, and the pixel electrode191 is electrically connected to the drain electrode 175 through thefirst contact hole 181 and the fourth contact hole 183, therebyreceiving the data voltage. The pixel electrode 191 includes a pluralityof branch electrodes 193 that substantially extend parallel to eachother and are spaced apart from each other, and upper and lowerhorizontal portions 192 that connect a lower end part and an upper endpart of the branch electrodes 193. The branch electrodes 193 of thepixel electrode 191 may be curved along the data lines 171.

The data voltage applied to the pixel electrode 191 generates theelectric field to the liquid crystal layer 3 along with the commonelectrode 131 applied with the common voltage.

Next, a portion of the peripheral area and the driving region of thethin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 13 alongwith FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 13, a plurality of driver connection lines123 are formed on the insulation substrate 110. The driver connectionlines 123 are made of the gate conductor material. A portion of thedriver connection lines 123 forms the second driving input pad 51 c.

The gate insulating layer 140 is formed on the driver connection lines123 and the second driving input pad 51 c made of the gate conductor.The second driving output pad 51 a and the output line 51 b are formedon the gate insulating layer 140. The second driving output pad 51 a andthe output line 51 b include the first layer 150 formed with the samelayer material as the semiconductor 151 of the display area, the secondlayer 160 formed with the same layer material as the ohmic contact ofthe display area, and the third layer 170 made of the data conductormaterial of the display area. Here, the second layer 160 may be omitted.

The first passivation layer 180 x is disposed on the second output pad51 a, the output line 51 b, and the gate insulating layer 140. The thirdpassivation layer 180 z is disposed on the first passivation layer 180x. In the case of the thin film transistor array panel according to thepresent exemplary embodiment, in the peripheral area and the drivingregion of the display panel, the second passivation layer 180 y made ofthe organic layer is omitted, differently from the display area.

The first passivation layer 180 x and the third passivation layer 180 zhave a plurality of third driver contact holes 182 a exposing the seconddriving output pad 51 a and a fourth driver contact hole 182 b exposingthe portion of the output line 51 b. The first passivation layer 180 x,the third passivation layer 180 z, and the gate insulating layer 140have a plurality of fifth driver contact holes 182 c exposing the seconddriving input pad 51 c.

The first connecting member 91 a is disposed on a plurality of the thirddriver contact holes 182 a exposing the portion of the second drivingoutput pad 51 a.

A bump 61 is disposed on the first connecting member 91 a covering thesecond driving output pad 51 a exposed through the third driver contacthole 182 a. Through the bump 61, the driving circuit chip 40 and thesecond driving output pad 51 a are electrically connected to each other.

The second connecting member 91 b is disposed on a plurality of thefourth driver contact holes 182 b exposing a portion of the end of theoutput line 51 b and a plurality of the fifth driver contact holes 182 cexposing the portion of the second driving input pad 51 c.

The first connecting member 91 a and the second connecting member 91 bare formed with the same layer material as the pixel electrode 191.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the first connecting member 91 aconnecting the second driving output pad 51 a and the bump 61, theoutput line 51 b connected to the second driving output pad 51 a, andthe second connecting member 91 b connected to the second driving inputpad 51 c are formed with the same layer material as the pixel electrode191. However, the first connecting member 91 a and the second connectingmember 91 b may be formed with the same layer material as the commonelectrode 131, and not the pixel electrode 191. In detail, the firstconnecting member 91 a and the second connecting member 91 b are formedwith the same layer material as the field generating electrode that isdisposed at the upper side among two field generating electrodes of thethin film transistor array panel. In the case of the thin filmtransistor array panel of another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the pixel electrode 191 may be disposed under the thirdpassivation layer 180 z and the common electrode 131 may be disposed onthe third passivation layer 180 z, and in this case, the firstconnecting member 91 a and the second connecting member 91 b may beformed with the same layer material as the common electrode 131.

In the thin film transistor array panel according to the presentexemplary embodiment, the second driving output pad 51 a from which thedriving signal is output from the driving circuit chip 40 includes alayer formed with the same layer material as the data conductor of thedisplay area. Accordingly, compared with the case where the seconddriving output pad 51 a is formed of the gate conductor material, adepth of the third driver contact hole 182 a exposing the second drivingoutput pad 51 a is not relatively deep. Also, the layer made of the gateconductor material is disposed under the second driving output pad 51 aincluding the layer made of the data conductor material such that thedepth of the third driver contact hole 182 a may be further decreased.Accordingly, the interval between the driving circuit chip 40 and thesecond driving output pad 51 a is not wide, thereby facilitating easyconnection using the bump 61. Also, in the thin film transistor arraypanel according to the present exemplary embodiment, the driverconnection lines 123 connecting the driving circuit chip 40 and thedisplay area are formed of the gate conductor material using only oneetching process, thereby reducing the width compared with the dataconductor formed through two etching processes such that the area of theperipheral area near the display area may be reduced.

Further, in the thin film transistor array panel according to thepresent exemplary embodiment, the output line 51 b (e.g., p of FIG. 10)covered by the passivation layers 180 x and 180 z is disposed betweentwo neighboring second driving output pads 51 a (e.g., x and y of FIG.10) disposed on the same line in the horizontal direction, not thesecond driving output pad 51 a. That is, two neighboring second drivingoutput pads 51 a (e.g., x and z of FIG. 10) are separated in thevertical direction. Therefore, the interval of the neighboring seconddriving output pads 51 a (e.g., x and y of FIG. 10) disposed on the sameline in the horizontal direction may be increased. Accordingly, even ifa misalignment is generated between the driving pad 40 and the seconddriving output pad 51 a (e.g., x of FIG. 10), the misaligned driving pad40 overlaps the output line 51 b (e.g., p of FIG. 10), not the seconddriving output pad 51 a (e.g., z of FIG. 10), and thereby the crosstalkof the driving signal due to the misalignment between the driving pad 40and the second driving output pad 51 a may be avoided.

In the case of the thin film transistor array panel according to theabove-described exemplary embodiments, one of two field generatingelectrodes which overlap each other has a plate shape and the otherincludes the branches. However, the present invention may be applied toa thin film transistor array panel of all shapes in which one displaypanel has two field generating electrodes.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thin film transistor array panel comprising: asubstrate comprising a display area and a peripheral area outside thedisplay area; a gate line disposed in the display area of the substrate;a driver connection line disposed in the peripheral area of thesubstrate; a gate insulating layer disposed on the gate line and thedriver connection line; a data line disposed on the gate insulatinglayer in the display area of the substrate; a plurality of driving padsdisposed on the gate insulating layer in the peripheral area of thesubstrate; a first insulating layer disposed on the data line and thedriving pad; a second insulating layer disposed on the first insulatinglayer in the display area of the substrate; a first field generatingelectrode disposed on the second insulating layer in the display area ofthe substrate; a third insulating layer disposed on the substrate on thefirst field generating electrode; a second field generating electrodedisposed on the third insulating layer in the display area of thesubstrate; and a first connecting member disposed on the thirdinsulating layer and covering the plurality of driving pads, wherein thegate line and the driver connection lines are formed with the same layermaterial, the data line and the driving pad are formed with the samelayer material, and the second field generating electrode and the firstconnecting member are formed with the same layer material.
 2. The thinfilm transistor array panel of claim 1, further comprising: an outputline respectively extending from the plurality of driving pads, wherein:the first insulating layer and the third insulating layer comprise afirst contact hole exposing the driving pad and a second contact holeexposing the output line; the gate insulating layer, the firstinsulating layer, and the second insulating layer comprise a thirdcontact hole exposing the driver connection lines; a second connectingmember is disposed in the second contact hole and the third contacthole; and the second connecting member is formed with the same layermaterial as the second field generating electrode.
 3. The thin filmtransistor array panel of claim 2, wherein, among a plurality of drivingpads, two neighboring driving pads are separated from each other in avertical direction.
 4. The thin film transistor array panel of claim 3,wherein, among a plurality of driving pads, the output line is disposedbetween two adjacent driving pads disposed on the same line in thehorizontal direction.
 5. The thin film transistor array panel of claim2, wherein a bump is disposed on the first contact hole.
 6. The thinfilm transistor array panel of claim 1, wherein the driving pad overlapsa portion of the driver connection lines.
 7. The thin film transistorarray panel of claim 1, wherein the second insulating layer includes anorganic insulator and has a flat surface.
 8. The thin film transistorarray panel of claim 7, wherein the second insulating layer is notdisposed in the peripheral area.
 9. The thin film transistor array panelof claim 1, wherein one of the first field generating electrode and thesecond field generating electrode has a plate shape, and the other has abranch electrode.